It seems that Deathstroke could potentially return to the DC Universe following a tease from DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn. The DCU is heading in a new direction under Gunn and Peter Safran's leadership. The two DC Studios bosses began their new jobs on November 1, replacing the former DC Films division. After attempting to launch a cinematic universe for nearly a decade, the new DC Studios will reboot the DCU in the hopes of becoming a more cohesive franchise. Under Gunn and Safran's management, they will be in charge of television, movies, and animation in in the DCU.Recently, Gunn has been responding to fans on Twitter about what is in store for the DCU's future. One fan inquired whether Slade Wilson, a.k.a. Deathstroke, may have a place in Gunn's new connected universe. Without revealing spoilers, Gunn gave a coy answer that seems to suggest Deathstroke may actually be coming to the DCU. Check out his response below:RELATED: Will The Other Justice League Members Be Recast Now?

What This Might Mean For Joe Manganiello's Deathstroke

Joe Manganiello as Deathstroke in Zack Snyders Justice League

In the original DCU continuity, Deathstroke appeared in a small cameo during 2017's Justice League, played by Joe Manganiello. While it was not canon within the main franchise, Manganiello's Deathstroke had his extended arc restored in Zack Snyder's Justice League, which released on HBO Max in 2021. A Deathstroke movie was reported to be in the works at Warner Bros. with Manganiello set to star and Gareth Evans as the director. Similar to many past canceled movie projects at DC, Deathstroke's got stuck in development hell.

However, with Deathstroke potentially being part of Gunn's new DCU, this could mean one of two things for the character and Manganiello. Since Manganiello never got fully into his Deathstroke gig, there isn't a lot of continuity baggage DC Studios would have to deal with in his movies. Bringing him into the new DCU would allow Manganiello to dig deeper into the DC character as he never got to in past years. This could also allow DC Studios to utilize some of the unused Deathstroke ideas from the former regime and his solo DC movie.

It seems more likely, however, that Manganiello's Deathstroke will be another character who gets rebooted and recast. In the end, it is up to Gunn and Safran, as it's still unclear if they are doing a full reboot for the DCU. Manganiello, who has spoken for years about how excited he was to play Deathstroke, barely got to enjoy his time as the DC assassin. If all the parties are willing to make it happen, there is so much they can do with Manganiello as Deathstroke within Slade's mythology. Now that Gunn has teased that Deathstroke may or may not be in the new DCU, time will tell where Slade may appear in the movies or connected TV shows.

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Source: James Gunn/Twitter

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